Ramayana, directed by Nitesh Tiwari, has been described as India’s biggest film. With a reported budget of ₹835 crore and stars from across the film industries, it certainly has enough in its arsenal to be called that. It has stars like Ranbir Kapoor, Yash, Sai Pallavi, and Sunny Deol, and a director of Tiwari’s calibre. Yet, the film’s title card does not have any of these names. That honour has gone to producer Namit Malhotra, a man who is no stranger to the grand stage, but not that well-known to Indian audiences.
Who is Namit Malhotra, Ramayana producer?
Born into a film family, Namit Malhotra is the son of film producer Naresh Malhotra and grandson of cinematographer MN Malhotra. After completing his education in computer graphics, Namit started his first company, Video Workshop. Three teachers from his college were his co-founders, and the editing studio was based out of his father’s garage. Video Workshop worked on shows like Boogie Woogie and Gaatha and even ran the post-production facility for Channel V.
In 1997, Namit merged Video Workshop with his father’s film production and rental business to create Prime Focus. Initially, the company provided technological creative services for TV shows and movies, before venturing into film production with The Hurricane Heist and eventually Brahmastra Part One.
In July 2014, Prime Focus merged with Double Negative, a UK-based VFX studio, to create DNEG. The company has since provided visual effects for films like Blade Runner 2049, Tenet, and the two Dune films. Over the last ten years, DNEG has won the Best Visual Effects Oscar seven times and eight times overall.
About Namit Malhotra’s vision for Ramayana
Namit began working on the idea to adapt Ramayana for the big screen as early as 2015, he shared with Hindustan Times in an interaction earlier in March this year. But it wasn’t until 2023 that the film went on the floors.
“I’m keen to not just make India proud but excite the world about Indian storytelling and really celebrate global cinema together. It’s not like we don’t like Hollywood films. It’s not like we don’t see an Oppenheimer and have a great feeling, or a Forest Gump, or any of these, you know, landmark films. Their stories are universal. I believe this is universal, too. This is that opportunity that I believe I’m pretty fortunate to have received in my life, and I hope I can deliver,” Namit had told HT about the film.
Ramayana release date and cast
Ramayana is intended to be a two-part film with Part 1 releasing on Diwali 2026 and Part 2 the following year. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram, Yash as Ravana, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Ravie Dubey as Laxmana, and Sunny Deol as Hanuman. The score for the film sees AR Rahman collaborate with the legendary Hans Zimmer, who is making his Bollywood debut.
